A conventional hardware security token is a portable device which provides one-time passcodes (OTPs) on behalf of a user. One type of security token displays OTPs in a display screen (e.g., an LCD). Another type of security token electronically outputs OTPs through a USB port.
When the user attempts to login into a computerized account, the user may be prompted to provide a username (or a user identifier) and two authentication factors. One authentication factor may be a password (i.e., something that the user knows), and the other authentication factor may be an OTP from the security token (i.e., something that the user has).
For example, suppose that the user wishes to use a computer to login to an online bank account to perform a banking transaction. The user may launch a browser application on the user's computer and navigate to the online bank's website using the browser application. During an authentication operation, the user may need to enter a username, a password and an OTP from the user's security token. If the security token has a display, the user may need to manually type in the OTP by hand. However, if the security token has a USB port, the user is able to simply plug the security token into a complementary USB port of the user's computer in order to provide the OTP.